OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - June 14, 2024
June 14, 2024 - Pacific Coast League (PCL)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City Baseball Club (37-29) at Sugar Land Space Cowboys (43-23)
Game #67 of 150/First Half #67 of 75/Road #37 of 75
Pitching Probables: OKC-RHP Chris Vallimont (1-0, 4.09) vs. SUG-RHP AJ Blubaugh (4-2, 3.78)
Friday, June 14, 2024 | Constellation Field | Sugar Land, Texas | 7:05 p.m. CT
Radio: KGHM-AM 1340 The Game, 1340thegame.com, iHeartRadio; Video: MiLB.tv, Bally Live
Today's Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club has lost back-to-back road games for the first time since mid-May and continues its series against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at 7:05 p.m. at Constellation Field. Sugar Land took a 2-1 lead in the six-game series last night as OKC has now lost three of the last four games overall...With nine games remaining in the first half of the PCL season, Sugar Land leads the league with a 43-23 record, while Oklahoma City is now 6.0 games behind in the standings and in third-place overall - 5.0 games behind second-place Sacramento (42-24). This is the most games out of first place OKC has been so far this season...OKC is trying to avoid three straight losses for the first time since a season-high four-game losing streak May 14-17 in Sacramento.
Last Game: The Oklahoma City Baseball Club again struggled to consistently generate offense as they fell, 5-2, against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys Thursday night at Constellation Field. Sugar Land got on the board first in the fourth inning with three runs, including back-to-back two-out RBI doubles from David Hensley and Dixon Machado. Oklahoma City responded with a two-run homer by James Outman in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 3-2. Grae Kessinger got those runs right back for Sugar Land with a two-run single in the bottom of the frame to make it 5-2. Following Outman's home run, OKC did not collect a hit for the remainder of the game, and the Space Cowboys pitching staff retired 13 of the final 14 batters of the game.
Today's Probable Pitcher: Chris Vallimont (1-0) makes his fourth start with OKC after signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in late May as a free agent...Vallimont allowed four runs and four hits, including two homers, over 4.0 IP in his last outing June 8 against Round Rock. He issued three walks with four strikeouts in a no decision, as OKC won, 10-9...He also had an abbreviated outing against the Express June 4, pitching the top of the first inning before the game was delayed and eventually suspended due to rain...He made his team debut May 29 with six scoreless innings in Albuquerque. He allowed four hits, with one walk and five strikeouts and completed four of six frames on 12 or fewer pitches as he faced four or fewer batters in five of six innings. Vallimont threw 75 pitches (50 strikes) and held the Isotopes 1-for-11 with runners on base and 0-for-5 with RISP. It was the longest scoreless start by an OKC pitcher this season and his longest scoreless outing since July 2021 with Double-A Wichita...Valliimont began the season with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, posting a 3-1 record and 3.29 ERA with 33 strikeouts, a 0.88 WHIP and .172 BAA. He pitched at least 5.0 innings in all five starts for York and allowed two or fewer runs in three of five outings. He did not allow more than five hits in any game...Last season, Vallimont pitched in 30 Triple-A games (nine starts) with Norfolk and Columbus and also made his Major League debut with the Baltimore Orioles. He began the season with Norfolk, making 14 appearances (eight starts) before making his ML debut with Baltimore July 3 at the New York Yankees...He was designated for assignment and traded to Cleveland for cash July 6, then closed out the season making 16 appearances (one start) for Columbus, going 2-1 with a 6.52 ERA over 29.0 IP with 22 strikeouts and 16 walks...Vallimont was originally selected by Miami in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa...Tonight is his first career appearance against Sugar Land.
Against the Space Cowboys: 2024: 4-5 2023: 18-6 All-time: 50-31 At SUG: 24-18 The top two teams in the PCL East Division meet for their second of three series this season and second of two at Constellation Field during the first half of the season...Sugar Land currently leads the PCL with a 43-23 record while OKC is 6.0 games back of the Space Cowboys...Sugar Land's offense leads the PCL - and all of the Minors - with 445 runs scored and 104 home runs...The teams split a six-game series in Sugar Land May 7-12. Four the games were decided by two runs or less. On May 9, OKC defeated Sugar Land, 22-3, scoring the team's most runs in a game this season and most since scoring 24 runs June 11, 2023 in El Paso. Fueled by that victory, OKC outscored the Space Cowboys, 44-24, in the series...Drew Avans led OKC with 10 hits and Miguel Vargas had a team-leading eight RBI in the first series of 2024 between the teams...OKC lost back-to-back games to Sugar Land during the same series May 10-11 for the first time since Aug. 23-24, 2021. The teams had met 51 times between then and May 10, with OKC going 36-15 over that stretch...OKC won the 2023 series, 18-6, and went 9-2 over the final 11 games against the Space Cowboys. OKC won five of six games in two of the four series and at least four games in each series. The team went 9-3 both at home and on the road...OKC outscored Sugar Land, 121-81, last season as OKC held the Space Cowboys to a .200 batting average...Tonight Sugar Land looks to win three straight games against OKC for the first time since Aug. 19-21, 2021, which was part of a four-game win streak across two separate series beginning July 27.
Dry Run: Oklahoma City was limited to two runs last night for the second straight game. It was the third time in the last four games that OKC has scored two runs or less as well as the fourth time in the last nine games OKC was held to three runs or less. In the other five games during the nine-game stretch, OKC scored at least five runs in each game and at least 10 runs three times, including in Tuesday night's series opener in Sugar Land, which OKC won, 11-2...Last night was the 17th time this season overall OKC has been limited to two runs or less in a game (66 G) and the back-to-back two-run games mark the team's lowest offensive totals in consecutive games since OKC was limited to three runs over a four-game stretch May 14-17 in Sacramento...Entering Wednesday, OKC had scored at least nine runs in seven of the previous 13 games, at least six runs in 10 of the previous 13 games, and at least five runs in 11 of the previous 13 games (105 R)....Despite the recent inconsistency, OKC's 407 runs scored in 66 games (6.2 rpg) are not only the second-most among the 30 Triple-A teams, but second-most among all 120 teams in the full-season Minors. They trail only current opponent Sugar Land (445)...OKC was held scoreless in eight of nine innings last night and has scored in just one of the last 16 innings and two f the last 18 innings in Sugar Land. Following James Outman's homer in the fifth inning, OKC finished the game 0-for-15, and over the last 16 innings, the team has gone 7-for-56 (.125)...In OKC's last three losses, OKC scored in just one inning in all three games for a total of five runs.
RISPy Business: Oklahoma City went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position last night and 1-for-15 with runners on base. Going back to Wednesday night, the team is 1-for-the-last-21 with runners on base and 0-for-the-last-11 with RISP...Over the team's last three losses, OKC is 2-for-20 (.100) with runners in scoring position while in the team's last two wins, OKC is 11-for-34 (.324)...On other hand, Sugar Land went 3-for-10 with RISP last night, and over the series is 9-for-27 (.333). Going back to Saturday, opponents are 15-for-44 (.341) with RISP over the last five games.
Dinger Details: James Outman hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning last night to score OKC's two runs and snap OKC's three-game drought, which was tied for the team's longest stretch without a homer this season (also April 4-6). Entering Sunday's home game against Round Rock, OKC had compiled a season-best stretch of 11 consecutive games with a home run. OKC hit 23 homers during the streak - tied for the most homers in the PCL with Sugar Land during the period. It was the team's longest string of games with a home run since a 12-game streak Sept. 6-19, 2021 (25 HR)...Overall this season OKC's 88 homers are second-most in the PCL behind Sugar Land's 104 HR...Last night, OKC held the Space Cowboys without a home run, ending Sugar Land's streak of 21 straight games with at least one homer. Entering Thursday, OKC allowed six homers over the previous four games. It was the first time the team has allowed a home run in four straight games since a five-game streak May 11-16 (6 HR). Entering Saturday, OKC had not allowed even one home run in three of the previous four games nor in 10 of the previous 15 games...OKC has allowed 51 home runs overall this season - fewest in Triple-A. However, since the calendar flipped to June, the team has already allowed 13 home runs through 11 games after giving up 12 home runs throughout the entire month of May (27 games).
Drew Up: On his 28th birthday Thursday, Drew Avans went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk and notched his team-leading 20th stolen base of the season. Through his first 10 games of June, Avans is batting .366 (15x41) and he has reached base in each of his last 11 games for his longest on-base streak of the season...Avans leads the PCL and is third overall in the Minors with 54 runs scored this season. He ranks second among OKC players and fourth in the PCL with 73 hits so far this season, while his five triples lead OKC and are tied for third among PCL players and his 20 stolen bases also lead OKC and rank fourth in the PCL...Throughout this season, Avans has established new Bricktown era (since 1998) career records for walks (213) and triples (23). He also ranks second all-time in games played (397) and stolen bases (102) while ranking fourth in hits (388) and tied for fifth in doubles (73).
King James: James Outman connected on a two-run homer in the fifth inning last night off the batter's eye, accounting for both of OKC's runs in the game. It was Outman's fifth homer with OKC and his homer total is tied for second-most among OKC players during the span of 21 games...Since joining OKC May 21, Outman has slashed .307/.449/.573 with nine extra-base hits, 24 runs and 15 RBI across 21 games. During that span, he leads the PCL with 18 walks and 24 runs scored while ranking eighth in OBP and ninth in OPS (1.022). He has reached base in 19 of the 21 games.
The Warden: Ryan Ward picked up a double last night, giving him 29 extra-base hits in 42 games this season, which is tied for seventh in the PCL. His .651 SLG tops the league and ranks third overall among all players in the full-season Minors...In 15 games since returning from the Injured List, Ward is 19-for-60 (.317) with four homers, a triple, four doubles, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored...He has 16 home runs with OKC this season to rank second in the PCL - trailing only teammate Andre Lipcius (17) - and his 17 homers overall this season, including a home run he hit while on a rehab assignment with the ACL Dodgers, are tied for the third-most in the Minors.
Pens Pals: Reliever Michael Petersen retired the side in order in the eighth inning last night, including one strikeout. He has not yielded a run in 20 of his 23 appearances this season, giving up a total of five runs (4 ER) and 10 hits over 22.1 innings with 31 strikeouts...Michael Flynn has not allowed a run in eight straight outings, tossing 9.1 scoreless innings during that time. He's held opponents 5-for-32 with 10 strikeouts and has issued just one walk. Since May 1, Flynn has allowed one run (solo HR) over his last 12 games, spanning 14.2 innings...Kevin Gowdy has recorded six straight scoreless appearances, totaling 9.2 innings. Opponents are just 3-for-30 during that time with 12 strikeouts against four walks.
Around the Horn: Kody Hoese's eight game hitting streak came to an end last night as he was held 0-for-3 with a walk. He had hit safely in each of his first eight games of June, batting .375 (12x32) with five doubles, five RBI and six runs scored to match his longest hitting streak of the season (April 23-May 2)... Hunter Feduccia has hit safely in five straight games (6x16) and in his last eight games, Feduccia is 12-for-29 (.414) with five extra-base hits and six RBI...OKC is 18-for-27 (66.7 percent) on challenges over the last six ABS Challenge Games.
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 14, 2024
- Offense Explodes Early on to Lead Sugar Land to Victory - Sugar Land Space Cowboys
- OKC Downed by Space Cowboys, 10-8 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Rainiers Win It in Extras - Tacoma Rainiers
- Tacoma Uses 10th Inning To Claim Victory Over Round Rock - Round Rock Express
- June 14 Game Notes: Tacoma Rainiers at Round Rock Express - Tacoma Rainiers
- OKC Baseball Club Game Notes - June 14, 2024 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Silver Sox Taken Down by River Cats in 8-4 Loss - Reno Aces
- Nine-Run Fourth Leads Isotopes Past Chihuahuas, 9-5 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Bees Lose to Aviators in Walk-off Fashion - Salt Lake Bees
- Albuquerque Tops El Paso, 69-6 - El Paso Chihuahuas
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